Violet: Hope for the Future
by Insert Great Pen Name Here
Summary: One day, Eggman vanished from the face of the Earth. Five years later, the Chaos Emeralds reappeared, their power gone. Ten years after that, Sonic vanished after his daughter, Violet, had a dream about a day that never happened. Sonic is now gone, and it's up to Violet to look for her father, find out the meaning of her dream, and try to save the world.


**Hey there! It's been a long time since I've written anything, let alone fan-fiction. I was a writer on here years ago, but I neither remember my pen name, nor do I think I want to revisit my old stories. I've really felt in the mood to do some Sonic fanfic stuff, particularly after this idea hit me, so here I am! I hope you'll enjoy this, even if there's a lot of focus on OCs. This is my own take on a 'new generation' kind of story, and I hope you'll enjoy the ride!**

**VIOLET: HOPE FOR THE FUTURE**

**Prologue**

"Daddy, tell me another story."

Looking at his daughter again, he couldn't help but smile. She was curious, like he remembered being when he was young, and after hearing about the fact that her parents used to be adventurers - heroes - he couldn't blame her for wanting to know more.

Sighing, he looked towards the pink bundle of quills and said, "Alright - I think we talked about how your mother and I met."

"When there was that robot of you!" The young hedgehog interjected.

He laughed, seeing the energy the girl had even at barely five years old. "Right, Metal. Okay, so, how about the time I fought a big water lizard?"

Green eyes widened, "What? No way!"

"Way! So, basically, these things called the Chaos Emeralds - you've heard of those, right?"

"Those rocks that Uncle Miles found?" The younger hedgehog asked, as her hands moved to begin wrapping around a plush as she listened to her father.

"Yeah, exactly. They used to be filled with this magic energy, and this creature, Chaos, was made of that. He was their guardian a very long time ago, but because of something that happened to his friends - he became angry and his rage threatened to destroy the world, so he had to be locked away. He was imprisoned for a long time, until Eggman decided to awaken him and try to use his power."

The pink hedgehog frowned, "Do these stories always involve him?"

The blue hedgehog smirked, "They sure do. He always ended up causing something, or helping out some other, greater evil. So, Chaos ended up turning on Eggman once he'd gained enough of his power back, and with all of the Emeralds inside of him, he turned into this giant lizard made up of most of the water around this big city called Station Square. He destroyed most of the city, and a lot of people got hurt, but we stopped him before he could do any more damage. I absorbed the positive energy remaining in the Emeralds and used their power to weaken him and push the negative energy out of him."

The girl listened to her father in rapt attention, "What happened after that?"

"Well, the spirit of Chaos' friend for all that time ago came out and returned him to the Master Emerald, and now they remain there, guarding Angel Island."

"Angel Island?" The girl repeated, confused.

The older hedgehog's expression softened, turning a little sad, "Oh, right. You've never been. It's this floating island, held up by the power of the Master Emerald. I'm an old friend of the guy who protects the island." He explained.

"Wow. Will we ever go there?"

The blue hedgehog sighed, "I don't know, V, it's been a long time since I even spoke to him."

"Oh." The pink hedgehog said softly, disappointed. There was a pause before she asked, "Why don't you talk him anymore, dad?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged, "After Eggman disappeared, there just wasn't many things keeping most of us together. We all had responsibilities elsewhere. It was usually the danger that brought us together. People just drift apart, sometimes." He said, before smiling softly at his daughter and ruffling at her quills as he began to stand, "That's enough of a story time for tonight, though, I think."

The pink hedgehog giggled at the hand playing through her quills, settling more comfortably against her toy, "Okay, daddy. I love you."

The blue hedgehog felt warm at that, "I love you too, Violet. Sweet dreams." With that, he walked out of the room, turning off the lights on his way out, running into another, older pink hedgehog as he stepped out into the hall.

"Amy."

The pink hedgehog smiled at her old hero, Sonic's quills only having turned a little long and scruffy with age. "Hey, Blue. She's finally giving you back, huh?"

"Why, jealous?" Sonic asked, the lids of his eyes lowering slightly with the teasing.

Amy's arms wrapped around the other hedgehog, "Maybe a little."

"I guess some things never change." Sonic teased again, his voice softer this time, as their heads leaned in together.

—

Miles Prower had only settled into his hammock some ten minutes prior to the sudden break of the hot rays and he grumbled accordingly, but he smiled easily as he opened his eyes, peering up at a familiar blue hedgehog past his shades. "Hey, bro."

Sonic smirked, "Hey, bud. Catching some sun?"

Miles chuckled, "I was planning to. But I guess you need something, huh?" The fox said, snorting as he saw the slight look of guilt on his friend's face. The fox got up from the hammock and stretched, his bangs longer and his fur too. The fox that had once been capable of keeping up with Sonic had turned a bit larger and unkempt with age. "So, I'm guessing you're here about the Emeralds again, huh?"

The blue hedgehog smiled awkwardly at his old friend, "That obvious, huh?" He said as they began to walk towards the house.

The fox frowned, "I figured as much. You know it's going to be the same thing again, right? The Emeralds have been dormant ever since we found them five years ago. There's been nothing, not a single spike in the readings I've had since I started monitoring them."

Sonic sighed, "I know, I know, it's just - it doesn't feel right, you know? Eggman vanished along with the Emeralds, and a few years later they just turn up out of nowhere, completely drained of energy? Something stinks."

Miles looked to the hedgehog and said, "Normally I'd agree with you, but it's been ten years, and there's been nothing. Not a peep from Eggman, not even a single bot sighting. He's never been subtle, and he's certainly never taken this long to do something. It really feels like he's gone this time."

Sonic's posture loosened as they walked into the house, "Yeah, maybe you're right. I just can't shake this feeling that something's up."

Walking further into the house, the two would come across the kitchen, and a certain rabbit, with a small fox in a high-chair with hair. Cream smiled at the blue hedgehog and said, "Hey there, Sonic. Long time, no see!"

It had taken some time for the blue hedgehog to get used to Cream addressing him casually, having been called "Mr. Sonic" by her since he'd met her, all the way through to her teens. "Hey Cream, good to see you!" Sonic then looked at the fox, noting the little brown patches of fur poking up from the top of the otherwise orange-furred head, "Wow, Cinnamon is growing up fast, huh?"

Cream giggled, "He sure is. Only two years old and already his speech is getting there." The rabbit said, moving over to the small fox, who began to call for her. The rabbit picked him up and held him, looking back to Sonic finally as she settled the toddler in her arms, "I'm going to need some privacy here, so whatever you boys have planned, you should get to it."

Sonic's face reddened, "Right. Uh, basement?" The hedgehog said, turning to the fox who nodded.

The lab was a large space, the entire area of the house, with very little sectioned off. A tool table was covered lazily with gadgets and tools and wayward notes, a computer was on, tubes and screens and lights made the room busy, and a little overwhelming to anyone but the fox himself.

In one corner, though, was where Sonic's attention fixed itself to. A large, rectangular machined hooked up to a screen, with a glass display showing seven near-identical emeralds. Once, they had glowed with a powerful energy, in different colours, but now they all remained a dull, lifeless grey. The only difference to any of them was the crack in one emerald - a sizable chunk missing from it.

"Well, here we are, Sonic. The Emeralds - as lifeless as ever." Miles said, sighing as he looked over the grey rocks again. The fox's expression softened as he looked over at Sonic, the blue hedgehog's eyes scanning, almost desperately, over the screen for some kind of change.

"I just don't get it, Tails. What made the Chaos Emeralds like this? Where has all the power gone? Usually there'd be some kind of lead, a reason for something like this to happen. But there's been nothing." Sonic said, before finally breaking his gaze to look at the two-tailed fox, "Are we sure there was nothing else in that village?"

Miles sighed, "Sonic, you know the answer to that. We were both there. The Emeralds just appeared there, in a cave just outside of the village. We checked everywhere around there, and there was nothing."

Sonic frowned, "That's not true. There was one thing - everyone had weird visions, memories from the night before. Of some creature attacking, and then a figure."

The fox shrugged, "I mean, that could be related, but there was no—"

"It _is_ related, Tails. I'm sure of it. That figure they talked about, I'm certain it's him. They talked about seeing red eyes, it can't be anything else."

Miles frowned again, beginning to lose patience with his friend, "Sonic, Shadow has been missing longer than Eggman. And besides that, whenever the Emeralds are used, they emit a glow. There's no way Chaos Control was involved with this."

Sonic turned more towards the fox, "Then maybe he figured out some new way to use the Chaos Emeralds. There has to be some reason for this. It doesn't add up." The hedgehog clenched his fists, "I can't accept it. There's too many questions with no answers. If it isn't Eggman, then it's something else. It has to be."

Miles sighed, "Sonic, none of us have any answers. And it doesn't help to work ourselves up over questions we might never get closure on. Besides, we have families to worry about now. I know it's easy to get worked up, to imagine going on a new adventure, but it's over. It's time we accept that. It's been twenty years." The fox said softly, before smiling sadly and offering a hand, "Come on, let's head back upstairs. If you're really that worried something is up, we can go back to the village in the morning, maybe we could even take the Tornado, for old time's sake?" He offered.

Sonic smiled after a moment and, instead of taking the hand, pulled his friend into a hug, "Yeah, that sounds good." Once they separated, he looked sheepishly at the fox, "Sorry for being, you know, weird about all of this - even after so many years."

Miles nodded, "It's alright, I get it. Just promise me something, Sonic. If we don't find anything this time, can you promise me that you'll drop this?"

Sonic hesitated before sighing and giving a nod, "Yeah, I promise."

Miles smiled and began to walk back towards the stairs with Sonic, "Good. I'm sure dinner won't be ready for a bit yet, but we can-" The fox stopped as he heard a frantic beeping from behind them. The two turned towards the device holding the Chaos Emeralds, as the graphs began to fluctuate wildly, the gems beginning to glow brightly, far brighter than either could remember them being.

"Oh no - those power levels. They're way over-capacity, like they're going to blow!" Miles said, moving to run towards the machine.

"Tails, wait!" Sonic said, beginning to run towards his friend. He'd swear he could make it, but he never did. Instead, he felt himself fly back, watching as a burst of water erupted from the casing. There was an orange blur and a bone-crunching smack into a wall, and then things went dark.

—

Violet gasped as she felt a sharp pain hit her - the five year old hedgehog clutching at her head. Amy, who had been busy in the kitchen, heard the noise and peeked out from the doorway. "Violet? You okay, honey?" The pink hedgehog then rushed over as her daughter nearly fell out of the chair as she stood from the dining table, "Violet!"

"Mom, something's wrong, my head hurts real bad." The young hedgehog complained, and the two heard shouts from outside. Amy moved towards the front door, only to cry out in surprise as the door collapsed in on itself, water beginning to rush into the house.

Violet could only watch as her mother moved towards the door, but at some point, her vision blurred. When she came to, her mother was gone, and the house was beginning to flood. Weakly, the young hedgehog made her way towards the door, and her eyes widened as she saw it. A huge creature made of water, rising up from the large hill at the end of town, where she knew Uncle Miles lived. It's green eyes bore down, focusing towards here. The rest of the town was already lost to him, merely debris floating in an almost unending sea.

_Chaos._

Violet noticed the waves beginning to crash down again, seeming to come right for her, and she closed her eyes just as the water was about to hit her. But it never came. She was scared to open her eyes, but when she did, she found that the world around her had stopped.

"This isn't the way things should be." A voice said, and Violet turned to see a hooded figure coming towards her, walking past her and towards the torrent of water frozen before her. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what, and any words she might've had left her when she saw the head of the figure turn, red eyes focusing on hers for a moment.

"I will stop it. But it will return. When that happens, you must be ready. I can't do this much longer." It was a warning, but before she could even really comprehend it, a green light flashed before her.

Violet screamed, jerking up in her bed, as sunlight bore through the window. Her body shook, clammy and sweaty as she looked around. She was in bed. Had it all just been a nightmare?

The door swung open violently, and Sonic darted into the room, "Violet? What's wrong, are you-" Before Sonic could continue, he'd feel his daughter wrap herself tightly around him, beginning to sob. "Hey - hey, it's alright…you had a nightmare, huh?" He said softly.

—

Violet retold the nightmare to both of her parents as best that she could, expecting them to comfort her, but neither did. In fact, Sonic frowned, and his fists clenched. Neither of them explained it to her, but as they left her room, she snuck out to listen to them downstairs.

"It's too similar." Sonic said.

"It's just a nightmare. Maybe she heard some of the commotion, and our stories about those old adventures just made her imagination play up."

"Amy, this same sort of thing happened in that village. Prophetic dreams about the previous day, but with a flood coming and wiping out their homes. And she saw that figure in her dreams too."

"She's just a child, Sonic."

"But she saw him, Amy. She said he had red eyes, that there was a flashing green light. She's never seen Shadow, ever."

Violet didn't understand what was going on, but she knew that something was wrong.

That day, she watched as her father left as he usually did, only he seemed quieter this time. Her mother had seemed worried at first, but then she smiled, as if she understood.

"Don't take too long, okay? Violet has never been around for one of your adventures." Amy said softly.

Sonic was confused at first, but then his eyes widened, "Right…" The blue hedgehog then smiled down at Violet, lowering himself down to her level. "Hey, V…I'm going to be gone for a little while, okay?" He said softly, adding quickly as he saw the concern beginning to fill his daughter's face, "Not too long. Just a week or so, tops, promise. I'm fast, remember? It's just that I have an old friend I need to find. There's a lot of things we need to talk about, and I'm counting on you to help your mom keep things going down here until I get back."

Violet felt like she was going to cry again, her lip quivering, "But I don't want you to go."

Sonic's face softened more, and he looked truly older in that moment, his eyes darker and his fuzz and quills shaggier, "I know, kiddo. But this is one last adventure I've got to take. If I don't, I feel like I won't be able to rest without feeling like I could've done something. A lot of strange things are going on, and it's always been my job to protect everyone from things bigger than they are. And this feels pretty big." The blue hedgehog then leaned in to hug his daughter, feeling her clutch tightly at him.

They stayed there like that for a minute or two before Violet finally felt comfortable enough to let Sonic go. She sniffled as she looked up at him. "P-Promise you'll come back soon?"

Sonic smiled at the smaller hedgehog, "I promise." He then ruffled her quills and stood upright. Violet watched him embrace her mother, whisper something that she couldn't quite make out, and then they kissed for a moment.

"Take care, Blue."

"You too, Amy." Sonic then parted from her and began to slowly walk off, before moving into a sprint, trailing off into the distance as Violet felt her mother's arm pull her a little closer into her side, stroking reassuringly at her quills.

That was the last time Violet ever saw her dad.


End file.
